Players will follow Lee, an escaped convict, and Clementine, an orphaned girl

Last night, Siliconera published an interview with Telltale Games’ CEO, Dan Connors, which revealed some details concerning the plot and progression of their upcoming The Walking Dead game. According to Connors, work began on The Walking Dead before the show was first aired, and will incorporate characters from both the graphic novels and the show. As for the game’s protagonist, a convict named Lee, Telltale decided to take an original approach:

“The lead character, Lee, is a lot like Rick. Instead of being a police officer he’s a criminal, so he’s on a redemption path. You don’t know whether he did it or not. We’re not exactly sure of the circumstances of what happened. We don’t fill in a lot; that kind of gets filled in as the story goes on and he gets built as a character over the five episodes.”

Over the course of the first five episodes, Lee’s personality will be largely up to the player. Throughout the game, Lee will be faced with choices to which he will have 3 or 4 possible reactions to. These choices range from which possible route to take around a roaming zombie horde, to split-second decisions concerning who to snatch from the clutches of a ravenous zombie.

Players will explore areas across the Atlanta area, and will visit locations from both the comics and the show. Fans of the series will recognize locations like Hershel’s farm, which players will visit in the first episode, prior to the events depicted in the show. Glenn and Lilly, from the show and comics respectively, are both guaranteed to make appearances in the game.

Players will also get a firsthand perspective to events that happen between the comic and the show. “Yeah, we’ll get more back story. We’ll provide maybe how a situation might have started,” said Connors. “We’ll take any advantage we have to tie in what we’re doing to the larger story.”

Zombie encounters will involve more suspense than action

With regard to zombie-killing, Connors made it clear that combat will be rare. “Yeah, it’s not really a combat game in that sense. More like you’ll be in a situation where there will be zombies. Some you’ll have to kill, others you’ll have to distract, and others you’ll have to hide from. We’ll rarely give you a level where you blast through and have a horde of zombies attacking.”

Based on Connors’ statements, and the trailer that released yesterday, Telltale is making an effort to capture the soul of both the comics and the show. Focusing on tension and interpersonal drama, rather than zombie combat, The Walking Dead is set to merge the zombie apocalypse with the traditional adventure game format. The Walking Dead is set to release for Xbox 360, PS3, PC, and Mac in late April.

Stu lives for action-oriented and narrative-driven games. Forever changed after playing Metal Gear Solid as a boy, he tirelessly searches for those perfect gems that blend addictive, open-ended gameplay and an unforgettable story. His turn-ons include infinite-ammo bandanas and inventive boss battles.